Sylvain Helaine, described as the most tattooed primary school teacher, has had his nipples removed to create a smoother surface for more tattoos. He shared his story on ITV's This Morning on Wednesday, October 28, in a conversation with hosts Dermot O'Leary and Sian Welby.
From suit to full coverage
Helaine has spent two decades teaching in classrooms across the UK and his home country of France. He said that during his first job, he wore a suit and had no tattoos. In 2012, at age 27, he got his first tattoo after seeing someone with a full sleeve while living in Britain.
His passion for ink grew quickly, and he said he always knew he wanted to be fully covered. He has had tattoos on his tongue and beneath his nails on both hands and feet, and the whites of his eyes are covered in black ink.
Career and classroom reactions
When asked about the impact on his career, Helaine said: "During the first day [of school], because if I do something good, people will say, 'Oh, obviously he's the best, we were about to see that'. But if I do something a little bad, they will think that I'm awful because of my appearance."
He described reactions from others, saying: "It always takes two minutes for children to accept me, two hours for the parents, and two days for grandparents. So it just takes a little bit of time."
Helaine said he does not bring up his tattoos in the classroom, explaining: "I don't talk about my tattoos and my appearance at all when we are in the classroom. We just work, we take out our exercise book, write out the date, and it goes like that. I'm really serious. But if they have some questions to ask me, they can wait for the playground, for example."
Love for the result, not the process
His tattooing journey is not finished, and he intends to go over existing ink on most of his body again. The removal of his nipples and belly button was to achieve a smoother skin surface to simplify the tattooing process and accommodate more ink.
Despite his extensive tattoos, Helaine said he hates the process. He explained: "I hate the pain. I hate getting tattooed." He added: "I love evolving. I love seeing myself evolving. You suffer, and I really hate the pain and am counting the days to the next tattoo session. I'm really anxious. I don't want to go, but at the end of the tattoo session, I'm really proud, and I feel invincible."
This Morning continues tomorrow at 10.00am on ITV1 and ITVX.
